Rail anchor and method of making the same



Patented Feb. 7, 1933 UNITED sTA Es HAROLD G. WARE,

PATENT OFFICE OF PARK REG-E, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE P & 1! COMPANY, 01' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS BAIL ANCHOR AND METHODOF MAKING- TEE SAME Application filed January 28, 1981; Serial No. 511,314.

This invention relates to improvements in rail anchors of the various ty es adapted to be formed by bending metal lanks to predetermined configurations and to the method 5 of maln'ng such anchors.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an anchor device in which the rail contacting surfaces may be made of 'suflicient area to prevent substantial rocking of the anchor about an axis extending transversely of the rail when the anchor is in its applied position, and which may be otherwise so formed, by the method hereinafter described, as to avoid various objections heretofore encountered in the manufacture of such devices.

Prior to the present invention, rail anchors have been made by bending metal blanks to the desired shape. In some instances the anchors have been made from round bar stock, but this practice is not entirely satisfactory since the round stock provides a relatively smallrail-bearing' surface in proportion to the thickness of the stock used. The majority of-anchors heretofore made by bending have been formed from bars or strips of metal either square in crosssection or rectangular in cross-section. The square edges of such blanks are particularly susceptible to over-heating, such over-heating resulting in deterioration ofthe metal along said edges. Furthermore, when bends ing a blank having square edges, and particularly when the bend is relativeLy sharp and/or when the metal stock is relatively thick, the compression of the metal at the inner portion of the bend and the stretch of the metal adjacent the outer surface of the bend effects such displacement of the metal 40 as to form substantially bell-shaped bulges on opposite sides of the bar adjacent the short radius of the bend. 'When the metal stock has square edge portions, the lateral bulges or displaced metal meet the inner surface of the bend at such angles as to provide relatively sharp edge portions. The stretching of the metal on the outside surface of the,

bar forms the outer surface with a concaved configuration which meets the sides of the bar at relatively, sharp angles and therefore forms sharp edge portions at the outer face of the bend. The deterioration of the metal resulting from the over-heating of the square corner portions of the metal blank and the fact that the sharp corners of the metal stock I chill more quickly than the thicker portions of the metal, present conditions favorable to above general types, whereby the rail gripping surfaces of the anchor may be made substantially the full width of the bar or plate fromwhichthe anchor is formed, without the use of square edged stock and at the same time avoidthe formation of sharp edge ortions along the bends of the anchor in w ich the said incipient cracks are likely to be formed.

Another and more specific ob'ect of the invention is to provide an anc or of the above character in which the body portion provides a flat surface for bearing against a vertical face of a cross-tie and in which the edges of the body are rounded so as to minimize any tendency that the said edge portions may have to cut the fibers of the tie when the anchor is pressed against or partially embedded in the tie by the creeping force on the rail. v

For the purpose of illustrating the improvements in the anchor device and the improvements in the method of manufacturing the same, the improvements are illustrated in the drawing in connection with the manufacture of a one-piece rail anchor, the general construction of which is well known in this art. It should be understood, however, that the principles of the invention are applicable' to the manufacture of rail anchors of various forms and that the utility of the invention is not confined to the particular type of anchor herein'shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a rail anchor made in accordance with themethod herein described; the said anchor being shown in its operative position on the base portion of a rail.

Fig. 2 is a side View of the rail anchor illustrated in Fig. 1, showing also diagrammatically the portions of the apparatus employed for bending the anchor to the desired configuration.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of a metal bar employed in connection with the improved method to be hereinafter described.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken through the rail anchor device on line 4-4 of Fi s. 1 and 2, respectively, and showing also t he tie-abutting portion partially embedded in the tie.

Fig. -5 is a cross sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 2, illustrating the manner in which flat bearing surfaces are provided through the use of the improved method.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line 66 of Fi s. 1 and 2, respectively, and

Fig. 7 is a diagram of a cross sectional view taken on line 66' through a similar form of anchor when it is made from a bar having square edge portions.

According to the present invention the rail anchor shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is made from I -a metal blank, the longitudinal edges of which are rounded as indicated at 10 in Fig. 3. The blank maybe substantially square in cross section, as indicated in Fig. 3, or it may be a plate or strip of any suitable width or thickness. The particular size or number of bends formed in the blank will depend entirely upon thetype of anchor being manufactured. In the drawing a well known type of anchor is illustrated in which the bar 11, while heated to a suitable bending temperature, is bent to form the anchor with a hook shaped configuration 12 at one end adapted to embrace one fiangeof a rail base. The body portion 13 of the anchor is formed with a downwardly bowed portion 14 and with flat bearing surfaces 15 and 16 adapted .to bear against the bottom surface of the rail base when the anchor is applied to the 'rail. One end of the said body is provided with a shoulder portion 17 which engages one edge of the rail to hold the hook shaped portlon 12 in gripping engagement with the other flange of the rail.

In the manufacture of the anchor herein shown the portion of the metal bar forming the anchor body 13, is first bent to form the downwardly bowed portions 14 and 18 of the anchor. These bends may be formed by any suitable means, for example by means of the die 19 shown in outline in Fig. 2, which presses the bar against the curved under surface of the die member 20. At a suitable period in the formation of the anchor, Suficient pressure is exerted on the bar at locations opposite the bearing surfaces 15, 16 to compress the metal from the dotted line posit1on shown in Fig. 4to the full line position shown in that figure and thereby fill out the rounded edge portions 10 of the bar to form square edges 21 which extend substantially the full length of the said bearing surfaces 15 and 16. With this construction it will be noted that by squaring up the rounded edges of the bar, the bearing surfaces 15 and 16 have widths substantially equal to the width of the bar. It will also be noted that the upper edges of the body intervening between the bearing surfaces 15 and 16 and the lower edges of the body throughout the major portion of its length retain the rounded edge configuration ofthe bar. Consequently, when the anchor body is pressed against or partially embedded in the cross tie 22 by the creeping force on the rail, the rounded edge portlon 23 and the other rounded edge portions of the anchor body (see Fig. 4:) do not drainage of water from the recess in the tie.

The end of the bar is bent from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 around a curved portion 24 of the die 20 to form the hook shaped portion 12. The extremity 25 of the hook shaped portion is pressed firmly against the inclined surface 26 of the die 20 to form a flat bearing surface 27 adapted to bear upon the inclined upper surface of a rail base when the anchor is driven to its applied position on the rail. The pressure applied to the end 25 of the hook shaped portion is preferably sufiicient to compress the metal of the bar from the dotted line position of Fig. 5 to the full line position, thereby squaring up the rounded edge portions 10a to form square edges 21a. The squaring up of the rounded edges of the bar provides the bearing surface 27 with a width substantially equal to the width of the bar. Any variation in the length of the bar, it will be seen, will result in a variation in the length of the hook shaped portion 12, but in any event such variation will not affect the operation of the anchor when formed in the above manner. When bending the end portion from the dotted. line position indicated at A in Fig. 2 to the full line position, the compression of the metal adjacent the short curve of the bend 28 and the stretch of the metal adjacent the outer edge 29 of the bend displaces the metal of the bar in substantially the maner indicated in Fig. 6. A corresponding bend formed in a bar having square edges displaces the metal of the bar to form a crosssectional contour, substantially as indicated in Fig. 7. The improved structural features obtained by the use of round edge stock, as shown in Fi 6, will be understood best by comparing t e contour of Fig. 6 with the contour of Fig. 7. It will be observed that by 5 bending the square edge bar the displacement of metal forms the sharp bulges 34, 34 at opposite sides of the bar adjacent the inner radius of the bend. A corresponding bend of round edge stock forms lateral bulges 30, 30, but these bulges are relatively small compared to the bulges formed when bending Square edge stock. Furthermore, the round edge portions of the bar impart curved surfaces 31, 31 to the bulges 30, 30 and therefore avoid the formation of the sharp edges indicated in Fig. 7 and consequently avoid the formation of cracks, above referred to. It will also be noted that the bending of the square bar draws the outer face of the bend inwardly to form a much deeper recess than is formed when the bar has round corners, as shown in Fig.- 6. This will be apparent by comparing the relative depths of the recesses, indicated by the leter B of Fig. 6 and the letter B of Fig. 7. It will also be noted that the concaved outer face of the bar, shown in Fig. 7, meets the side faces of the bar at a relatively sharp angle and thereby forms sharp corner portions 3535. Inasmuch as the type of anchor herein shown is driven to its applied'position on the rail by striking the outer face of the large bend 12, the hammer blows tend to chip off the sharp edges 35. This results in not only weakening the anchor at the bend, but also exposes the workmen to injury from the flying particles of steel. The use of the round edge stock, as shown in Fig. 6, avoids the formation of sharp edges, shown in Fig. 7. The outer face of the bar is drawn in by the bending of the bar from the position indicated in dotted lines at 32, to the full line position 33, but the round edges of the bar merges into the concaved outer surface 33 at the corners of the bar and consequently avoids the objections noted with re ard to the sharp corner portions 35 of Fig.

The sharp edges 34 and 35 are most pronounced in the old method of manufacture, along relatively sharp bends of the anchor, but similar sharp edge portions are formed in some degrees at all of the bends when the anchor. is made from metal stock having square corner portions.

I claim: I

1. A rail anchor having a cross sectional configuration of a rectangle with the corners removed and bends to provide rail gripping portions having flat bearing surfaces of sub stantial width.

2. A rail anchor havinga cross sectional configuration of a rectangle with the corners removed and at one end a hook shaped bend to provide jaws for embracing the base flange of a railroad rail, the said cross sectional configuration providing flat surfaces of sub- .stantial width for frictional engagement with the rail. I

3. A rail anchor comprising a body formed with a rail engaging surface of a width substantially equal to the width of the anchor body and also formed with a tie-abutting portion having a cross-sectional configuration in the form of a rectangle with a corner remjoved to provide a rounded edge portion for engagement with the cross-tie.

4. A rail anchor comprising a body, a portion of which is compressed to form a rail' bea ing surfaces having a cross-section in the form of a rectangle with rounded corners.

6. A rail anchor comprlsing a bar of metal bent to provide .rail gripping means for frictional engagement with the base portion of a rail; said bar being compressed at predetermined locations whereby a cross-section through a portion of the bar has rectangular corner portions and a cross-section throu h another portion of the bar is in the form 0 a rectangle with the corners removed.

7. A rail anchor comprising a bar of mletalformed at one end with a portion for engaging one edge of a rail base and formed at the other end with a bend providing upper and lower jaws for engagement with the top and bottom surfaces of the other base flange of the rail, thesaid jaws having flat bearing surfaces forsaideiigagement with the rail, and the bar having substantially flat sides and inner faces along thevbends and formed with rounded corner portions at the junction of the said side faces with the inner face of the said bend.

8. The. method of making a rail anchor which consists in heating a metal blank of predetermined length, the cross-sectional configuration of which at all points throughout the length of the blank is in the form of a rectangle with rounded corner portions, bending the blank about a form having a surface contour corresponding to the shape of the anchor desired, and applying metal displacing pressure on the blank at predeter mined locations to square up the said corner portions at said locations and form flat surfaces which meet the adjacent sides of the blank at substantially right angles.

9. The method of making a rail anchor which consists in heating a metal blank of predetermined length, the cross-sectional configuration of which is in the form of a rectangle with the corners removed; bending the blank to provide rail ipping members, and applying metal disp aclng pressure at predetermined locations on the blank to compress the same to form fiat bearing surfaces havin widths substantially equal to the width '0 the blank and to form substantially right angular corner portions at said predetermined locations. ,p

HAROLD G. WARE. 

